


Now They Lay Me Down to Sleep

by Ian_the_Existential_Crisis



Category: Apex Legends (Video Games)
Genre: Drama, Family Feels, Insomnia, Medical Inaccuracies, Mirage joins the games in season 3, Sickfic, hang tight guys, hurt almost no comfort, im not sure if this us a no pairing yet or mirage x everyone, no beta we die like noobs, octane was and original legend so everyone is pushed up a season, updates are infrequent
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-25
Updated: 2020-03-25
Packaged: 2021-03-01 03:21:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,103
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23318278
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ian_the_Existential_Crisis/pseuds/Ian_the_Existential_Crisis
Summary: Elliott was handed a death sentence at that small clinic. If he is meant to die he wanted to go out his own way. But it seems like his path to death might be the only thing keeping him alive.
Comments: 4
Kudos: 20





	Now They Lay Me Down to Sleep

**Author's Note:**

> So I posted the whole first chapter on tumblr. Hang in there, I have a lot planned. Make sure to comment if you want to see a pairing in this story. 
> 
> Enjoy.

There were times, such as the current time with him sitting and impatiently waiting, that one Elliott Witt wished he could vanish. Maybe take a small vacation from being Elliott Witt and be someone else for a while. That would be nice. He would leave his body, go out into the world as a new person, and experience everything with a fresh set of eyes and new perspective on life. But that wouldn't happen. He had his poor mother to think about. 

His mother, Evelyn Witt, only had him. She didn't talk about what happened to his father, for all Elliott knew he could actually be alive somewhere. And his brothers, well, life was cruel. One day Elliott was the youngest of the four of them then the next thing he knew he was the only one left. Gods, how he wished he could have been there. Maybe if he were there something might have been different. Maybe they wouldn't be…. 

His mother hated talking about his brothers in the past tense. Sometimes, on bad days, she would still set out plates for everyone. She would eagerly wait for them to walk through the door, and she would have the brightest smile on her face when Elliott came home from work. Maybe that's why he could never get himself to move out. He couldn't imagine her sitting at home, alone at the dining table, silently waiting for a family that would never come. 

She was supportive though. In everything he wanted to do. When he decided not to enter the science field, taking up her mantle in the study and creation of her famous holo-tech, even though he understood it perfectly and was quite good at it, in order to open his own business, she encouraged him. Hell, she even helped him to pay for the bar. He naturally paid her back, sneaking checks into her account because his mother was a stubborn woman who would and had outright refused the money back. When he originally talked about entering the Apex Games, she gave him a soft smile and told him to follow his heart. When he decided not to, she frowned at him and told him that he could do anything he wanted and he should never let others hold him back. In the back of his mind he knew, she knew, that he didn't enter because he didn't want to leave her a childless mother. 

And that's exactly what it was. 

He bounced his foot. All this waiting was driving him nuts.

He didn't want to leave her alone in the world. That's why he was here, in the waiting room of a small clinic not far from his bar, the Paradise Lounge. They lived on the outskirts of Solace City, so it wasn't hard for Elliott to say that he needed to pop into the bar for work instead of being honest with her. He didn't want her to think anything was wrong. 

He was just having some trouble sleeping. 

And honestly, he wouldn't be here if those damned sleeping pills had worked like they were supposed to. If anything, they only seemed to make his sleepless nights worse. The last time he was here he told the doctor about it. His doctor said it could probably be the pills he was taking, or perhaps he had a tolerance to them, since he had issues sleeping for a while, or it could even be his stress affecting the way the pills worked. And while she assured him it was nothing to worry about, she asked him if he would mind taking some kind of genetic test. Really, anything to have a good night's sleep, he was willing to try.

"Elliott." The receptionist called him. She gave him a smile that didn't reach her wrinkled eyes. "Katrina will see you now." 

"Thank you, Grace." He stood, hitting his foot against the leg of the chair, stumbling. "I'll see you Friday for karaoke night?"

She was a regular at his bar. Her and her friends came every Friday for karaoke, and she and her wife showed up every once in a while for the afternoon poetry session. It had taken a while to learn that they only showed up when Grace's wife Ester could sneak away from work, which had her traveling through the galaxy as a translator. They were an older couple, so Elliott couldn't wait for the days when they would stay late for the poetry readings and tell him all about their travels. Well, mostly Ester's travels. Grace mainly stayed in Solace City. 

"Wouldn't miss it." Her smile brightened. 

He gave her a nod as he passed on his way back through the wooden door. There were a few other doors, passed the main wooden one, in the hall, but Elliott had been here enough to know, it was the third one on the left. 

"Ms. Nox?" He tapped a knuckle on the door before entering. "Sorry to bother you." 

Katrina motioned him to sit down. She cradled a phone to her ear and the smile on her face said everything. It must have been her son. Which made Elliott feel a ping of guilt for interrupting her. He knew how he was when he was on the phone with his mother. This was the same, no matter what anyone said. 

Katerina was a nice, older, woman. She had kind green eyes and dark gray hair. And while she was almost seventy, Elliott had the date for her big birthday party booked and planned for, even if it was two years away, she still wanted to give back to the community. She was once a doctor on staff at a children's hospital on Gaea, but she said an accident happened a few years ago, involving her son Alexander, and she decided it was time to move to Solace. Elliott pretended not to know, but with internet access at four in the morning when the rest of the world is asleep, it wasn't hard to find out. 

She always said it was okay, now that she moved to Solace she was closer to her other son. Her adopted son. Elliott didn't know much about him, but she always smiled and talked about how he would tinker with his 'toys'. 

"I have a patent now, so I have to go." She said after a moment. "Yes, yes. Be safe. I love you too, t-" She paused the phone smushed into her cheek as she riffled through papers. "Mmmhm. You too, goodbye, Hyeon." She laughed as she lifted the phone from her shoulder, turning it off. "I'm sorry Elliott, my son is such a talker. And he's made a new friend, so I must know every detail about his life. Please, please have a seat."

"Thank you Ms. Nox." He said, pulling out one of the comfy chairs across from her desk. "I was originally just coming in to check up, but you called me on my way here. Were you able to find stronger sleeping pills that might help."

She shifted, her happy smile from before all but a ghost. "No. Actually, I received the results from the test I asked you to take."

"Oh, yeah? I didn't realize they would be back so soon. I lose time, too many hours to burn just doing nothing." He chuckled nervously. "How was it?"

"Oh Elliott." She said, her hands filing on top of some papers. "I would like to be frank with you. This will be hard to hear so please steel yourself."

Those words, that sad tone of voice made Elliott freeze. Something was wrong. How was he going to do this to his mother? 

"You have fatal familial insomnia. It is also known as FFI. It is a genetic mutation where…" 

Her words droned on. He stopped paying attention. The word fatal was bad. That was bad. It was bad. Everything was horrible. No, she had to be wrong. Or maybe it was just the name. Who the fuck is sadistic enough to name a nonfatal disease fatal family-whatever? 

"Is there a cure?" He asked. He could feel his heart speed up. His palms sweaty. He already knew the answer. She had told him to prepare himself. 

"No." She sighed. 

"Like nothing you can do? That's redi-rided- that stupid, there has to be something."

"Unfortunately putting you into cryosleep would be the equivalent of placing you in a coma early. Wouldn't you rather have what time you have left, not spent like that?" She explained. "Look, it's always hard to be handed a death sentence. But we can-"

"No!" Elliott stood. "You don't understand. I'm the last one. I'm the only one left. I can't leave her like this. Just because I can't sleep? It has to be something else."

Katrina took out a pad of paper, scribbling down an address. "I surely hope I'm wrong on this, but the genetic test was positive. This is the address to one of my dear friends who specializes in sleep study. Feel free to reach out to him."

Elliott eagerly took the paper. "I will. Thank you Ms. Nox." 

* * *

Elliott of all people understood that life was unfair and cruel. Without reason, people leave, disappear, and die. Elliott knew that better than most. But he stupidly thought that his family had suffered enough that nothing else would happen. 

How foolish he was. 

His foot tapped impatiently as he waited for his mother to reenter the room. He had so many things he wanted to say. He also had a few questions she probably couldn't answer. Even if she, herself, had the answers, she was having so issues with her memory as of late. 

She entered, wiping her hands on the blue apron she used when she was baking. Elliott half way hoped she wanted to make pork chops for dinner, so he could make them with her again just like old times. 

"Oh, dear, what's wrong?" She frowned at him. "I can tell by that look on your face that something's the matter. Out with it."

"Mom. I-" His brain stopped working. What was he supposed to say? 'Yes, mom, I went to five different doctors in the last three months, and they all tell me I probably won't last a year. Sorry your whole family died on you. I tried my best.' He could only imagine how well that would play out. 

"I- uh- I want to join the Apex Games."

"Is that all?" Evelyn looked at him confused. The twinkle in her eyes showed that she expected more. Something worse. The exact thing he probably should have told her instead of his second most sacred thought. 

"Yes." He managed to lie through his teeth. Elliott wasn't sure how he managed it. It felt like there was something caught in his throat. He knew that he was fighting back tears. 

"Oh, baby, it's about time you admitted it to yourself. When you told me about that robot friend of yours-"

"Pathfinder is not my friend." Elliott said defensively, not caring that she just glared at him for interrupting her. 

"As I was saying, when you told me about that robot friend of yours joining, I thought you would tell me that day that you wanted to go. But you didn't. You stayed here with me. But it's okay, you've done enough. You can go. I'll help you."

He wanted to tear up. That sounded like a goodbye. She didn't even know yet, and she still was setting him free. Telling him it was okay. 

If he was going to die anyways, he might as well die the way he wanted. They both knew that he hated watching the games from the sideline at his bar. He would get frustrated as people cheered for the champion squad, mostly because he wanted to be the champion. The only thing that held him back was himself. His mother wanted him to go when he originally told her about how much he wished to be part of them. 

"Thank you." Elliott sniffled. 

"Oh, none of that now." Evelyn smiled. "Come on, help me make pork chops. We can celebrate tonight. We'll worry about everything else tomorrow." 

His mother was, by far, the best ever. He was going to hate leaving her behind. But he promised himself, in that very moment as he stood from the table with a teary smile, for as long as he was able to, he would call her and make her know she was the most important woman in the world. 


End file.
